Lola Rennt [Run Lola Run] (1998)

The idea of re-living an event several times, with the event happening slightly differently each time, is a familiar theme in film and television. Hollywood films such as “Groundhog Day” and episode of just about every science fiction TV series ever made have used the concept. It may be a common concept but no other film executes it as stylishly as this German language film.

The main character, Lola (Franka Potente) is shocked to discover that her drug-dealer boyfriend has incompetently lost the 100,000 marks entrusted to him by the local organised crime chief. If he cannot recover the money, or get a similar amount of cash from some other source, then his budding criminal career is likely to end abruptly (and fatally). Lola must somehow find the money and get it to her boyfriend, the catch is that she only has 20 minutes before he puts into action his desperate plan to rob a local supermarket. Lacking any form of transport, Lola has to get there on foot, the urgency of her mission means that she spends the majority of the film running (hence the title). Her first few attempts are unsuccessful, but fortunately the filmmakers give her a change to start from the beginning after each attempt. The subtle differences in events each time ably illustrate the concept that the smallest thing can make a big difference.

Franka Potente does a brilliant job of portraying the heroine, and she is ably supported by a good cast. The dialogue isn't particularly memorable, but this might be because it is translated from German. The in-between-attempts scenes of Lola and her boyfriend in bed discussing how much they love each other are probably bad in any language. Occasionally parts of the plot are a bit unlikely but this film is possibly more about style than substance.

The most prominent feature of the film is the direction. There is an impressive range of innovative techniques, all used to good effect. These include fancy camera angles, split screens, the rendering of some scenes as animation and the summing-up of people's future lives by a series of second-long shots of important future events. It is all used effectively to keep up a frantic pace, there is quite literally never a dull moment. The relentless soundtrack is equally excellent and helps sustain the pace of the movie.

In summary, a fast-past adrenaline rush of a movie, with some superb direction and music and a real sense of fun.

Rating : 8 / 10

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All content ©2003 William Marnoch.

Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .